The purpose of this paper is to clarify what "change" means for Chinese learners of Japanese (CNS). A survey was conducted on Japanese native speakers (JNS) and CNS, using the verbs kieru and shimaru in different contexts. The result showed that it was possible for CNS to choose between -te iru or -ta depending on the degree of confidence in change, and CNS tended to use the adverb moo more frequently compared to JNS. For CNS, the contexts in which -ta is chosen correspond to that in which moo is used. CNS seem to use moo to present the change, even if the change is not witnessed by the speakers. The concept of "change" covers wider situations for CNS then that for JNS. Japanese language instructors should be careful when they use the concept "change" in their explanation of the Japanese grammar.